Colorado University’s Blockchain Club recently hosted a 24-hour hackathon and conference on campus at Idea Forge. Sponsored by key industry partners like Shape Shift, Keep Key, ConsenSys, and Rebel AI, the weekend featured speakers and panelists on topics like “Blockchain in the Advertising Space,” “Exploring Career Options in the Wild World of Crypto,” and “Cryptocurrency and Taxes.” Along with industry speakers like Manny Puentes (Rebel AI), Buff alum Justin Blinco (Shapeshift), and Ked Hodler (Keep Key), students also put together their own presentations for several of the showcased speaking events.

One of the weekend’s highlights was the “Global Women In Blockchain” panel, which featured Lindsey Gallaway (Rebel AI), Amber Hartley (BurstIQ), and Nina Nichols, Mila Popovich, and Diana Lange of Global Women In Blockchain. As students (men and women) asked the panelists about life in crypto after college, the women explained their own success and failure stories while encouraging individuals to network and seek mentorship in the job space and to “go where you are uncomfortable.” Hartley candidly shared a number of her career highlights and low points saying, “A lot of people in this space will tell you being laid off from one [tech] job in their career ended up being the best thing that happened to them.” Said Popovich to attendees, “Ask yourself, ‘What is a life well shared?’ … That’s how you will begin to unravel your own planetary pathfinder.”

Hackers at the event came up with a number of interesting projects as well, from predictive market dApps, to tech that could simplify the nightmare that is currently figuring out your US taxes when you own crypto, to a decentralized event registry that could change event and concert ticket sales.

Overall, the weekend was a wild success for the CU Blockchain’s first summit gathering. The CU Blockchain club meets weekly with about 200 on their Slack and 50 dedicated in-person members. They encourage anyone interested in the space to attend and have plans for more summits and events for next year. Get more information on their Slack and check out their leadership team coordinating events like this on their website.

Blond On The Run

I’m a Colorado native and freelance content creator who goes where the adventure calls. If I'm not at a show, I'm traveling the globe! I work often in the tech, travel, and music spaces. I’m also a huge blockchain enthusiast. blondontherun.com is a place for me to share stories from these spaces with you. I aim to inspire you to chase your own adventure, find the most useful products and tips to take you there, and then get lost doing it!